Designing Modern Quilts

Gain fresh perspectives on color, prints, patterns and modern quilt construction with Weeks Ringle of Modern Quilt Studio.

Learn to design quilts that reflect our times. Weeks provides the tools necessary to scratch your expressive itch, offering fresh perspectives on color, prints, patterns and quilt construction. The class includes five "explorations" that will tap your creativity and expand your approach to designing quilts. Weeks also shares her brainstorm-in-a-box approach to finding design inspiration in surprising places. Along with her partner Bill Kerr, Weeks has pioneered the art of modern quilting over the last 13 years, writing books, publishing Modern Quilt Studio magazine and designing over 100 fabrics. This theory-based class also serves as a retrospective of Bill and Weeks' work, showcasing nearly 50 quilts, including Weeks' never-displayed-before first attempt at modern quilting.

Lesson 9. Beyond the Block

Lesson 10. Quilting & Finishing

Experiment with quilting motifs and how they interact with fabric. Learn to set goals and to follow through with inspiration.

"I absolutely LOVED this class ... It's obvious that Weeks put an enormous amount of time and deeply conscientious effort into compiling the lessons and discussions around design, color and what professional designers think about as they create. ... This class was a gift I gave myself and believe me, I'll talk it up to the people I meet! Absolutely tremendous." - leighwayGA

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Lesson plan

33:05

Lesson 1. Introduction

Weeks demystifies design and discusses the preparations and perspective needed to design modern quilts.

11:54

Lesson 2. Modern Quilts

Learn the definition of modern design and how technology has changed traditional quilting techniques over time.

12:59

Lesson 3. Color Theory Basics

Explore color theory and experiment with fabrics you find both easy and difficult to design with.

26:40

Lesson 4. Master Use of Color

Delve further into color. Learn what colors typically symbolize and what colors work well together.

20:36

Lesson 5. Printed Fabrics

Understand print scale and the design concept of figure ground.

27:38

Lesson 6. Designing with Solids

Discover the advantages of working with solid-color fabric when designing graphics.

41:32

Lesson 7. Composition

Learn about the different approaches to composition and how to be inspired by fabric or the ideas around you.

21:13

Lesson 8. Executing Your Design

Plan and lay out your composition, making sure it's well-balanced and engaging. Learn design pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Lesson 9. Beyond the Block

Lesson 10. Quilting & Finishing

Experiment with quilting motifs and how they interact with fabric. Learn to set goals and to follow through with inspiration.

The instructor

Weeks Ringle, Instructor of Designing Modern Quilts

Weeks Ringle is the co-founder of Modern Quilt Studio (previously FunQuilts), a contemporary quilt design studio in Oak Park, Illinois. Weeks and her husband, Bill Kerr, began making modern quilts in 1999, using their graduate design degrees to bring a modern voice to the quilt world. Modern Quilt Studio launched the first-ever magazine exclusively dedicated to modern quilting, Modern Quilts Illustrated, in 2011.
Weeks and Bill's second book, The Modern Quilt Workshop, is now in its sixth printing. Their other books on contemporary quilting and design include Transparency Quilts, Quilts Made Modern and Quiltmaker’s Color Workshop. Their work has been featured widely in the national press including in O:The Oprah Magazine, TIME, The New York Times, Dwell, American Patchwork & Quilting and Country Living.

Ratings & reviews

Class rating

(72 reviews)

Very enjoyable

by mhunter521270495 on February 19, 2015

I have very much enjoyed the classes so far and would follow up with future classes!

I have very much enjoyed the classes so far and would follow up with future classes!

AMAZING CLASS

by KelleyInVermont on January 18, 2015

Coming from an art and fashion design background this is just what I needed to finally wrap my head around embracing Modern Quilting. You have freed me from the confines of traditional quilting. Thank you so much Weeks for making me realize how I want to do things is okay. I also love how you don't just hand us "fish." You teach us how to "fish."

Coming from an art and fashion design background this is just what I needed to finally wrap my head around embracing Modern Quilting. You have freed me from the confines of traditional quilting. Thank you so much Weeks for making me realize how I want to do things is okay. I also love how you don't just hand us "fish." You teach us how to "fish."

Modern Quilts

by Sunvalleysue on January 14, 2015

So far so good. Weeks is talented, i know and like her work. Now i am satisfied she can teach as well.

So far so good. Weeks is talented, i know and like her work. Now i am satisfied she can teach as well.

Foundations in Modern Design

by audrey6684 on December 10, 2014

I love this class, plain and simple. I can see going back to it time and again as my skills improve. Weeks teaches exactly what the title says. I don't understand the negative reviews here, especially comments that you wanted her to design a quilt before your eyes. You obviously missed the entire theme of this class...design is a very personal and unique process. She shows tons of examples and how she and her husband arrived at them. Awesome class.

I love this class, plain and simple. I can see going back to it time and again as my skills improve. Weeks teaches exactly what the title says. I don't understand the negative reviews here, especially comments that you wanted her to design a quilt before your eyes. You obviously missed the entire theme of this class...design is a very personal and unique process. She shows tons of examples and how she and her husband arrived at them. Awesome class.

Designing Modern Quilts

by Terri Crothers on November 10, 2014

Loved this class! Weeks is a pleasure to listen to and I found myself listening while sewing. I love that I can watch over and over and I pick up something useful each time. Information on how to plan quilting of a top extremely useful and advice to practice takes the stress off ruining a good quilt. That being said, advice to go for it and practice consistency is great!

Loved this class! Weeks is a pleasure to listen to and I found myself listening while sewing. I love that I can watch over and over and I pick up something useful each time. Information on how to plan quilting of a top extremely useful and advice to practice takes the stress off ruining a good quilt. That being said, advice to go for it and practice consistency is great!